Diesel do's and dont's
 

Ok i'm trying to figure out the truths to these myths.

1. is it required to warm up your diesel before driving
2. is better to leave running, or just shut it off if only going to be 5 minutes
3. can you fill the fuel tank with it running?
4. diesel engines go longer intervels before oil changes?
5. What temperture does diesel gell?

so i let my truck run for the period that the heater grid cycles when its cold(whatever that is 205 seconds or what ever) If i run into the a convinence store for 2 minutes i leave it running, i dont fill the tank when running, change oil every 5k, if it below 20 or i'm going into the mountains i put an anti gelling crap in my tank. i think i'm treating my truck right but lets squash some rumors. if there are some im leaving out ask them.

i would say if you cant get fully wormed up, at least get the gauge off the cold mark.

personally i dont have time for ether in the morning, takes 20+ minutes to worm up my truck, so i just baby it till it shows some heat on the gauge

shut it off. that way no one will drive off with it while your in the store. it also has the side effect of saving fuel too

yes, but gas stations prohibit it

diesel doesn't have the flammable vapor issue that gasoline has so the risk is minimal

owners manual will tell you this. the Duramax typically goes 10K miles between oil changes

this one can get fun. it depends on winter vs summer blends, fuel additives, contaminates, water, ects

i have heard from any where from 10 degrees down to -20ish

how about adding emissions. diesel vs gas. which is more harmful?

In my opinion diesel burns cleaner then gas. but it really makes no sense to put these emission control systems on, yes they do drop what comes out of tail pipe but they also kill fuel mileage so... less emissions=more fuel... think they cancel each other.

Better to leave it running or shut it off? That depends on where you are. Glorious Peoples' Republic of California, or one of the locales that follow their anti idle laws,better shut it off. Otherwise, I'd get a spare key so you can lock the truck while it's running and save some wear and tear on you ignition switch and starter, while keeping your truck where you left it.

Gasoline emissions are probably a little worse than diesel emissions, but I don’t want to get cooped up with either for too long.

remote start in my truck not activated due to it being a stick, but it has a pit stop function where i can take the key with me.... no one drives my truck with out permission and i don't give permission very easily

There are a lot of myths in the diesel world- especially in The US where diesel are still rare compared with the amount of the existing vehicles.

So to give you answers to your questions I give you european answers mostly from Bosch, the major diesel company:

1.is it required to warm up your diesel before driving?

This is a typical american habit from the old days. No, nowadays it is required to get full oil pressure!- so start driving after 30 seconds or up to one minute during cold weather. The turbocharger is the part which needs oil. A diesel won't get temperature during idle. So to make your turbo last idle a short time. In fact idle gives you a no load condition. What will happen? More moisture inside the engine during warm up. High fuel consumption because the engine has to inject more fuel to overcome friction.

So start driving as soon as your turbo supplied with oil.

2.is better to leave running, or just shut it off if only going to be 5 minutes?

Depends on what you did before: High loads like towing or interstate, keep the engine running, to enable cool down of the turbo. otherwise you can shut down after two minutes- this is called turbo aware behaviour. Temperature is dropping real quick down to 300°F up 350°F during idle, if reached that, you can shut off. So an Exhaust gas thermometer is a must have for this and many other reasons.

3.can you fill the fuel tank with it running?

Sure, you could- are you allowed to do so? No, most fuel stations demand to switch the engine off.

4.diesel engines go longer intervels before oil changes?

No- actually they have shorter intervalls than gassers. This depends on the higher amount of soot in the oil.

5.What temperture does diesel gell?

Depends on what you get. Good diesel fuels are gel resistant down to -26°C. Providing that you don't have any wind chill.
Cheap fuel or summer diesel will get you in trouble as soon as the temperature drops. So be careful with that fuel you did get in the jerry can during the summer...

If you really want to keep your diesel a long time- than you install an engine heater- we do not talk about block heaters here- we talk about diesel powered coolant heaters being able to provide 17.000BTU's to heat your engine and your cab. This is the best you can do. Providing an engine which is heated up up to operational temperatures.

That varies greatly from application to application, OTR trucks can go 35-50k on an OCI with no issue.

Personally, my truck has from when I let go to the key to buckle my seat belt to warm up, unless it is near zero and then maybe I will let it idle for 2 minutes at most. I drive reasonably conservatively while the engine is cold but at the same time I need to merge onto a highway so it will get a little throttle. I also rarely leave it idling if I just running in to get coffee or something. Only if I am towing or plowing very heavy snow will I let it idle to cool down, at most 2-3 minutes when I go let it idle down. I know to some this sounds down right abusive but frankly I got 214k out of a 351 doing the same thing and it was a great running engine when I got rid of it. The rest of the bronco rusted away around it. I also drove my 04.5 CTD the same way and no issues in 205k, again it was running great when I sold it.


It depends on the state, in MA all vehicles are supposed to shut down when filling. Untreated diesel fuel will gell at 17.5*F but fuel is mixed with #1 and other anti-gel additives for your region.

ok, lets add another myth. Are short trips bad for a diesel. lets say only a mile to grocery store?

In the cold, yes. What you'll end up doing is cause the engine oil to sludge. If you plan on a short trip, drive it long enough to where at least the heater is blowing warm air.

well with all of that i think i'm doing good, i let it warm up until the heater grid shuts off, don't take short trips, change my oil every 5k and fuel filter every 10k, let it idle for short periods when i run into convinence store, drive it like a grandpa until the engine warms up. IDK a lot of this is opinion but i don't think i am doing anything wrong or will hurt my truck. thanks for all the advice.